Like a Flower In a Stream
by knittingknots
Summary: Post Manga. One day, InuYasha and Kagome discover a sad, 14 year old Rin. Why is she sad? And is there something going on in the village that Sesshoumaru should be paying attention to? Takes place 1559 in my timeline.
1. Chapter 1

_I do not own InuYasha or any of the characters created by Rumiko Takahashi_

**Like a Flower in the Stream**

_**Chapter One**_

It was not a large stream, but its waters ran quicker than normal, gurgling as they swirled around the rocks in the stream channel. At one point, just below an interesting mass of stone, someone had built a foot bridge. It was a simple rustic affair, wooden planks with side railings, but standing there, one had a lovely few of the higher ground in the distance, and a wooded drop towards the river and village below. A girl dressed in soft lavender colors stood on the bridge watching the water pass beneath it.

The air was sweet and cool, there on the hill at the edge of the village, away from the smells of the paddy fields and cooking smoke and bustle of everyday life. A breeze, almost too cool for comfort, played with her hair, driving a wisp of hair across her face. She pulled it back from where it had wrapped across the bridge of her nose and looked up. The sky was gray, not with the thick leaden sky of winter, but with a thinner coating of cloud, not unusual on a spring day. Upstream from where she stood, a stand of sakura trees in full bloom graced the landscape, cloaked in a pale, almost white pink while most other trees were still barren. Brown grasses lined the stream bank, left over from last summer. In places, new green growth was poking through, taking away the sense of barrenness.

But the girl on the bridge was ignoring the signs of the season changing. Looking at the water, she could see petals from the cherry trees floating on the surface of the stream, being carried off on the current.

Softly she sang:

"A single blossom

blooming on the branch

and then another,

watch them open one by one

as the warbler's first song blooms.

"Spring, you are coming,

you have arrived here again,

in song and blossom,

you only make my heart yearn

to see his eyes once again."

Feeling like one of those flower petals cast aside by the wind and caught by the water, it seemed to her that her life was drifting off down a current she had no control over. She rested her cheek on one hand on the bridge railing, and sighed. Lost in her thoughts, she did not hear soft footsteps approaching.

"Rin-chan, are you all right?" a kind voice asked.

The girl swirled around and looked at the speaker. Kagome stood at the edge of the bridge, smiling at her, but with concern in her eyes. The miko smiled hesitantly, if unsure of what to say; the silver-haired child on her hip, though, had no such reservations. Atae, almost a year old, reached out his hands and said, "Ri!"

Rin smiled at the miko, who was not dressed at all like a miko today, wearing a kosode of pale flowered blue with a jacket of darker blue to keep the cold away. Looking over Kagome's shoulder, she saw InuYasha coming, carrying a large bundle.

"Rin is fine, Kagome-sama," she said, forcing a smile. "Hello, Atae-chan! How are you today?"

The baby wiggled his ears, and babbled something, still reaching out. Some of the sadness dropped from the girl's face as she held out her arms to him. Kagome, happy to see the change in the girl's eyes, passed him over.

"You looked so sad standing on the bridge," Kagome told her.

"Rin was just thinking," the girl replied. To change the subject, she focused her attention on Kagome's son. "Oh, you're getting so big, Atae-chan." Balancing the small boy on her hip, she wiggled fingers at him, and he laughed. "Pretty soon, you'll be able to carry Rin!"

"I think you'll have to wait a day or two more," InuYasha said as he reached the bridge. He rested a hand on Kagome's shoulder. Kagome looked up at him and smiled. "Isn't that right, little guy?"

Atae put his hand up to his mouth, and pulling it away quickly, made a popping sound.

"Aren't the trees lovely?" Kagome said. "We thought we'd come out and watch the blossoms today."

The girl looked up, as if noticing the stand of trees for the first time. "They're very pretty," Rin said. She pointed into the stream. "Rin was watching the petals from the trees caught in the water. Still so pretty, but then they drift away, forgotten." Her face darkened a moment as her voice faded, but then Atae reached up and grabbed a strand of her hair. "Ah, but we're not going to forget about you, are we, Atae-chan. You're too cute." She deftly rescued her hair and tickled his ear.

Kagome's face grew thoughtful for a moment, but then she shook it off. "Then you should come and sit with us, Rin-chan. I brought treats. I know you like chimaki," the miko said. "That is, if you don't have to go back to Kaede's right away."

"Kaede-sama is meeting with Tomeo-sama," Rin said, shifting Atae from one hip to the other. "She told me she would be busy most of the afternoon."

"We have noodles, too." InuYasha said. He grinned at her.

Kagome looked at her husband, and raised an eyebrow, then turned back to the girl. "InuYasha must think you're very special, Rin-chan. Nobody loves noodles better than InuYasha. And if he's willing to share . . . "

"You have to join us," InuYasha said.

Rin looked up at the hanyou who was smiling warmly at her. His silver hair and amber eyes reminded her of his brother, who was so like and so not like InuYasha. She looked at Kagome's warm smile and nodded. "Thank you."

"Well, let's cross the bridge and find a good spot to lay out the blankets," Kagome said.

"Ba!" Atae said, as if agreeing.

Rin laughed, and together they walked over the bridge to the sakura grove, Rin and Atae leading the way.

"I wonder what's bothering her?" Kagome whispered to InuYasha as they followed behind. "She's been acting unhappy for a while now. You don't think someone in the village is giving her problems, do you?"

"Don't know. Maybe you should talk to her?" InuYasha replied.

"And maybe talk to Kaede." Kagome took her husband's free hand.

"Good idea," the hanyou agreed. They grew closer to the trees, and he looked down at his wife with a serious look in his eyes. "You did make a lot of noodles, right?"

Kagome laughed.

_...to be continued..._


	2. Chapter 2

_I do not own InuYasha or any of the characters created by Rumiko Takahashi_

**Like a Flower in the Stream**

_**Chapter Two**_

"Now sleep little one,  
the snow has all gone,  
spring in the mountains,  
spring in the village,  
the cherry trees bloom.

"Now sleep little one,  
the springtime has come,  
spring in the mountains,  
spring in the village,  
the cherry trees bloom.

"Now sleep little one,  
the birds are singing  
spring in the mountains,  
spring in the village,  
the cherry trees bloom."

Rin gently rocked Atae back and forth, singing softly, until satisfied he was soundly asleep, she laid him down on the blanket, covering him with the cloth Kagome handed her. Her fingers gently brushed his silver hair, and touched one of his triangular ears. Lost in thought, her eyes drifted away, staring off into the distance.

"You're very good with him," Kagome said softly, smiling, as she put away their used dishes into a basket. "I can see why Sango-chan's children like you so much."

The girl smiled at the older woman. "Babies are easy to love," she said, then bowed her head.

"And," Kagome replied, "Babies know those who love them back."

"Keh," InuYasha said, leaning towards his wife. "If I get some more firewood, would you make some more tea?"

Kagome met his eyes, questioning. The afternoon was getting late. InuYasha glanced at Rin, and looked back at his wife. "Of course," she answered. "I'll be glad to."

"I'll be back in a little bit, then," he said, then stood up and walked across the clearing until he was out of sight. Kagome watched him go and wondered what to say next, when Rin broke the quiet.

"Iya is having her mogi next month," the girl said, not looking at Kagome. "Her father is marrying her to a cousin who lives in Edo the day after that."

"Really?" Kagome said. "I will have to offer my congratulations."

"Her cousin is a fisherman. She told Rin she's scared of living so close to the water." Rin plucked a small blooming weed in the grass near the edge of the blanket she sat on, then twirled it in her fingers.

"Maybe she's more nervous about leaving the village. Getting married means a lot in life changes. Edo, though, isn't very far away." Kagome picked up an uneaten chimaki, and began to unwrap it.

"Her cousin's parents are dead. I think she's afraid of being alone." Rin looked up at the older woman. "Fishermen are gone a lot, she says, and she doesn't really know anybody there, except for an old aunt or two. Moving to a new place can be hard. Loneliness is hard."

"Yes, that's true," Kagome replied, looking thoughtfully at the girl. She looked at the sweet in her hand, and wrapping its bamboo cover back over it, put it back down.

"Do you miss them, Kagome-sama?" Rin asked, surprising the older woman. "Do you miss your family you left to come here to be with InuYasha-sama?"

Kagome sighed, then looked off into the distance. "Yes," she said after a moment. "I miss them all, but I think I miss my mother the most. There are times when I really wish I could tell her all the good things that have happened, or cry on her shoulder when things are going bad." She tucked a stray bit of hair behind Rin's ear. "Nowadays, though, I usually go talk to Kaede-baachan. She's like a second mother to me."

"Kaede-sama is kind, and Rin tells her a lot," the girl said, agreeing. "Rin doesn't remember her mother that well, though she dreams about someone warm and kind, like Kaede-sama. But sometimes . . . " She looked up to the trees, swaying in the afternoon light. A breeze blew by, and flower petals drifted down to where they were sitting. One landed on the blanket covering Atae. Rin leaned over and picked it up. Atae didn't stir.

"Sometimes what, Rin-chan?" Kagome asked.

"Rin wonders if Kaede-sama remembers what it was like being lonely." The girl sighed. "Everybody in the village looks up to her and talks to her. Nobody whispers as she walks by. Nobody turns around and goes the other way."

Kagome scooted closer to the girl, and wrapped an arm around her. "Do you feel too alone, Rin? Are people doing that to you?"

Rin looked up at Kagome. Her eyes glistened, and she chewed on her bottom lip. She nodded once and rested her head on Kagome's shoulder. "It didn't used to be like this," she said.

Kagome ran her hand across the length of Rin's hair and down her back, gently rocking the girl. "You know you can come talk with me any time you feel too lonely or need to talk," she said.

"When Rin first came to the village, everybody was very nice. Sesshoumaru-sama came and visited a lot. The girls would talk to Rin, and some of the boys would, too. " Her voice trailed off for a moment, and she rubbed her nose with the back of her hand. "They don't think Rin hears them when they talk."

Kagome gently rocked the unhappy girl and looked up at the trees beyond the clearing. She could sense that InuYasha was close. She suspected he was sitting in a tree nearby listening. After a moment, the girl straightened up and smoothed her dress.

"Doesn't Sesshoumaru-sama come and visit you regularly?" Kagome asked.

Rin looked down at her hands, which were turned palm up in her lap. "Sesshoumaru-sama . . . he must have more important things to do lately. He has not come to see Rin since leaf-fall." She breathed sharply.

Kagome breathed deeply, trying to find the right thing to say, and rested her cheek on the girl's head. "I'm sure there is a good reason why he hasn't been around. I'll talk to InuYasha and see if he can find out something."

The girl looked up at her, her eyes torn between hope and fear. She was about to say something, when InuYasha walked back into clearing, carrying a bundle of dead wood. Kagome could tell from the look in his eyes that he had overheard their conversation, but his eyes softened as he neared the women and put down the wood.

"Hmm," he said, grabbing the chimaki Kagome had started to open earlier. He finished unwrapping it, and popped it into his mouth. After chewing for a moment, he said, "It's getting late. Maybe we should wait on the tea."

"That's what I was thinking," Kagome replied, as she finished putting the last of the dishes away in her basket. "Rin, would you like to come home with us and have dinner?"

"Thank you, but Kaede-sama is expecting me," Rin replied, standing up.

"Come by tomorrow, though," Kagome said. "You can help me with Atae and the garden if you'd like."

InuYasha picked up his sleeping son carefully so Kagome could fold up the ground cloth they had been sitting on. "Get her to show you how she makes those special pickles of hers," he told Rin, grinning. "They're really good."

Kagome laughed. "We could do that, too."

"InuYasha-sama, you like pickles too much," Rin said, smiling. "If Kaede-sama doesn't have other plans, Rin will try."

Waving goodbye, she turned and left.

After Rin was out of earshot, Kagome stood up, and took Atae from InuYasha. "I think I need to have a talk with Kaede-baachan. I wonder what's going on in the village about Rin."

"You do that. And I think I'm going to have a talk with someone else," InuYasha replied as he picked up the basket.

Together, they walked back to their house.


End file.
